Jack Robinson Upsets John John Florence at Olympic Surfing

In a thrilling showdown at the Paris Olympics, Australian surfer Jack Robinson took down the top-ranked John John Florence, sending him out of the competition. The heats were held in the notorious surf at Teahupo’o, where challenging waves added an extra layer of intensity.

The conditions worsened throughout the day, which even led to the cancellation of some women’s heats. Amidst this chaos, Ethan Ewing joined Robinson, making it an all-Aussie quarterfinal.

Due to a storm brewing south of French Polynesia, the waves were much larger than prior days, creating a difficult environment for both surfers. In the first half of their heat, neither Robinson nor Florence could secure a solid score. They both had to be rescued by jetskis after getting caught in the rough water.

Robinson managed to break through after skillfully riding a wave and landing a score of 7.17 in a spectacular barrel ride. With a total score of 13.94, he defeated two-time world champion Florence, who only managed to score 9.07.

This win echoed Robinson’s earlier success at the Margaret River Pro, where he also bested Florence. Shortly after Robinson’s victory, Ewing advanced as well, beating Connor O’Leary, who was representing Japan.

In Ewing’s heat, wave selection played a critical role. He scored 8.67 on one of his rides, leading to a winning score of 14.17 against O’Leary’s 11.00.

Earlier in the day, Joao Chianca wowed fans with an incredible performance, edging out Morocco’s Ramzi Boukhiam in a match that ended with scores of 18.10 to 17.80. Chianca now faces fellow Brazilian Gabriel Medina in the next round.

This quarterfinal will feature several matchups between competitors from the same country. For instance, Tahitian Kauli Vaast will take on Joan Duru, while Alonso Correa from Peru faces off against Brazil’s Reo Inaba, who progressed with a score of just 6.00.

With the women’s round three postponed and forecasts suggesting conditions will continue to deteriorate, surfing events are likely to move to reserve days.

In earlier rounds, Filipe Toledo from Brazil showcased his skills, earning the highest heat total of the day with 17.00 against Billy Stairmand of New Zealand. Toledo demonstrated a solid strategy, taking early priority in the waves and executing some impressive barrel rides.

Jack Robinson also achieved the highest single wave score of the event so far, scoring 9.87 in his Round 2 heat against Lucca Mesinas from Peru. It took Robinson a little while to find that perfect wave, but when he did, he made it count.

Kanoa Igarashi from Japan managed to beat Leonardo Fioravanti from Italy in what was considered one of the tougher heats in the men’s category. Both surfers had a history tied to the waves of Teahupo’o, as they first surfed together at the age of 12.

Veteran Johanne Defay from France bounced back from a tough start and not only defeated Molly Picklum but also achieved the highest score of 7.83 with an impressive total of 11.83 points.

The day was especially exciting for local surfer Kauli Vaast, who garnered loud cheers by staying ahead of his competitor Matthew McGillivray and clinching victory.

Meanwhile, an inspiring moment came from Siqi Yang, a 15-year-old surfer from China, who won her Round 2 heat—the first-ever heat win for her nation in Olympic surfing history. Yang, who grew up far from the sea, expressed her excitement about competing in such pristine surfing conditions.